A Little Patch of Earth

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

I keep hearing about how Millenials are having difficulty finding affordable housing. I get it. Rent is up. Houses are expensive. Millenials are starting out with a lot more debt thanks to student loans. Every time I hear about millenials not being able to leave their parents houses or having to live with 16 roommates in order to make rent. I wonder, if they don't like it, why don't they seek out alternatives. I think the biggest problem is that they keep trying to live their lives based on out-dated strategies.

The economy crashed a few years ago. The rules changed. Stop trying to play by out-dated rules that somebody else came up with. When they change the game, you either have to adapt to the new rules-- which rarely works out in your favor, because you are allowing somebody else to call the shots (hence all those student loans)-- or you get out of the game and make up your own. In my opinion, choosing a tiny house is getting out of THEIR game.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

If you're into foraging, the abundance of summer stock is coming. Already berry trees and bushes are getting ready to do their thing around here. Black berries and black raspberries grow wild here, as well as wild grapes, mulberries and wild strawberries. Wild strawberries are tiny and don't have much flavor, so I usually don't take much interest in them.

The great thing is that you have all of this clean food with high nutrient content and it is absolutely free for the taking.

I am going to have a bumper crop of mulberries this year, so I will have to figure out what to do with them.

Monday, May 29, 2017

I have had some time recently to work on the tiny. The weather is not co-operating today. I did get some plywood put on sufficient to finish up the plywood on one side. That makes two down and two to go. There is not much left on either of the two remaining sides; it will just take a sustained effort to sit down and do it.

After the plywood, there is house wrap and sealing the roof. Then it will be time to install windows and doors and then siding and anchors and the exterior will be complete. I'm excited to be able to get inside to work because the weather will no longer be an issue.

I did discover carpenter bees have begun boring holes into my rafters. Got some bug spray. I will have to take care of it tonight.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

I enjoyed writing about the goings on around the homestead, but I couldn't imagine any purpose for doing so. Having had some time to reflect and do many things, I think I know the direction I would like this blog to take and, so, have come back.

So, nothing important today. Just announcing my return. But if you are interested and have nothing else to do, here is season 1, episode 1 of one of my favorite English history shows.

Friday, March 24, 2017

The weather is pretty fine today. It is a good time to get some work done on many of the outside projects I have been putting off for just such an occasion.

My raspberry patch needs thinned. Because they are good plants I can't just throw away the plants that I don't keep. I have found I can get a pretty good response if I offer them on Craigslist for free and I figure it is pretty good karma too.

I took my nephew out today. He "helped" me in the yard a bit. After his mom got home, I returned him to her and returned myself to my yard.

It was 70 degrees. There is something about being in the air and the light that quiets the noise. Maybe because there were no devices. I don't know.

I have a black kitty who has gone nearly feral. She comes to hang out with me when I work in the yard. Companionship and quiet and I got a little of the raspberry patch thinned too. More to do. Lots more to do.Later

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

. . . well, okay, maybe not entirely. There is green beginning to bud in the trees and brush. And daffodils are everywhere. Those flowers to me are the harbingers of spring. Although, considering that there is usually some nasty weather after they make their appearance, they often seem confused, as well. And, indeed, this year, nice weather, daffodils and then, this last week, snow.

But the springtime I was really referring to was the kind that shows up in the stores with packets of seeds, garden tools and baby chicks. It always makes me feel excited and hopeful. I always start out with high hopes.

I bought my chicks a few weeks ago and they are in that awkward phase right now.

I started some seeds a couple of weeks ago and they are approaching that awkward phase too.

The weather is supposed to be better next week. It should be a good time for projects like building a new coop and getting the garden beds ready for some of these starts. The greens and the peas, anyway.

Three Good Things
1. Seeds
2. Peeps (Chicks)
3. Better weather is on the way.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Sometimes I watch HGTV when I am doing stuff around the "big" house. I'm pretty sure the "Big" house costs less than what most of these people will put into a down payment. I wonder what it is like to have that kind of money and why you would want to go into debt if you could pay cash for something that requires less up keep and fewer utilities. They aren't just taking on 30 years of debt to purchase a home, but cleaning, utilities, repairs, maintenance. I don't understand the people who want the 3000 sq. ft. house. But then, I imagine they wouldn't understand me with my tiny house that is 30x smaller.

I remember visiting some people many years ago who were having an addition built on to their family home. The woman declared that she couldn't wait for the addition to be finished because they had been living on top of each other for so long. When I was in high school, my family lived in a two bedroom apt for a couple of years. There are six kids in my family. I wondered at the time what they would have thought about that arrangement.

Anyway, for those of you interested in a little comparison, here it is: